Just stuff from some coonass who's got some highfalutin investment title.

Friday, January 31, 2014

It's The Economy Stupid: Market Close

Well, it wasn’t as bad as it once was. The markets opened in a rout this morning, rallied this afternoon, then settled down less than 1%. It wasn’t a pretty journey.

U.S. stocks extended their January slide, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its worst January since 2010, as

earnings reports at Amazon.com Inc. and Mattel Inc. disappointed investors and turmoil in emerging markets continued. As bad as the close was, it was worse earlier. The S&P 500 trimmed losses after slumping as much as 1.2 percent today to 1,772.26, approaching its lowest level since Dec. 18. So it tested its recent low and bounced back. It could have been much worse. The S&P 500 fell 3.6 percent in January, its first monthly decline since August, as emerging-market currencies slumped amid signs China’s economy is slowing. All is not doom and gloom. The S&P 500 last fell to start the year in 2010, when the gauge rallied 17 percent in the next 11 months to finish the year with a 13 percent gain. So there is hope for 2014

About 79 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 that have posted earnings this season exceeded analysts’ projections. Profit at S&P 500 companies probably rose 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, but sales revenue only increased 2.6 percent. And if China’s and emerging markets economies falter, corporate revenue isn’t likely to get a remarkably better.

Crude Oil and Natural Gas sold off, Gold and Silver rose slightly, currencies were all over the place with emerging markets in turmoil.

As to the Super Bowl, I like the Manning family, always have, always will, so I am pulling for Peyton.